


Exposing the culprit

by Subaruchan192



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Akechi Goro Lives, Best Friends, Confrontations, Conspiracy, Conversations, Enemies to Friends, Friendship, Gen, Hope, Hopeful Ending, New Chance, New Hope, Rescue, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 05:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20652161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Subaruchan192/pseuds/Subaruchan192
Summary: Goro feels himself safe, everything is going according to plan and soon, the Phantom Thieves are going to be exposed as the fools they are. And therefore Akechi makes a great mistake: underestimating them.Ren, on the other hand, is tired of seeing them heading for disaster. One day, in Leblanc, he decides to make a risky attempt: he confronts Goro about the conspiracy and hopes, he can convince him to join them. Will he be successful? Or has he doomed him and his friends once and for all?





	Exposing the culprit

**Author's Note:**

> I just watched the Opening of Persona 5 The Royal and when I saw Ren and Goro resting this peaceful next to each other, I felt like I need to write something, how Goro could be spared from his fate. 
> 
> It's written from both point of views, mixing into each other.
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it :)

Exposing the culprit

The doorbell of LeBlanc chimed brightly, almost cheerfully, when Ren entered the café, which was his home. The well-known smell of warm coffee and curry greeted him, although Sojiro wasn’t here tonight. Sometimes, Ren had the impression, the smell was emitting from the wood of the furniture. It was strange, how much at home he was starting feel, maybe even more so than he ever did at home. Sojiro and he got along ever since the secret had been unmasked and Ren looked after Futaba like after a little sister. It felt more like family to him than his parents, that had willingly given him away to escape from the disgrace.

Ren rose his gaze from his feet and saw the trusted, woollen beige coat at the counter, a streaming, warm cup resting in front of him. His brown eyes were starring thoughtfully at the other wall.

“Honey, I’m home.”, Ren greeted him automatically according to the script of the long-practised act. The two regular customers sitting on one of the benches didn’t even bother to look up. They knew those conversations between them well. Ren didn’t know, when this game had started between them. He only remembered, he had started it and how surprised he had been, when Akechi had acted along.

“Darling, you kept me waiting. Do you have a mistress?” Goro turned around in his stool and greeted him with the perfectionated, artificial smile, which fooled anyone. Ren recognised the hidden layer of this joke, the mistress being a metaphor for the Phantom Thieves, although he had been with them as Crow. Goro felt superior due to his hidden identity as the culprit. Ren hated, how it was standing between them like a wall. Despite everything he had done as the culprit- especially to Futaba and Haru- and how he was using and abusing them, they got along. Normally Ren liked those little banters with him, but not today. Ren wasn’t up for this charade. They had run through Momentos all day long to fulfil requests, while waiting for the day to send the calling card to Sae Niijima. The shadows had been strong due to the rain outside and exhausted them. After the thirtieth floor passed, they had stopped counting, but they had needed to distract themselves. The pressure of the public, Akechi as the Culprit in their neck, while he acted like a friend, was nerve-wracking. It was all too much for Ren today. He was pissed, because he knew, that these light hearted, playful conversations were honest and not just a way to lure the leader of the Phantom Thieves into trusting him. They would get along well, if Goro hadn’t decided- out of whatever reason- to throw Tokyo, maybe even Japan, into a turmoil. Goro was clever, he was charming and he would be loyal, if he wouldn’t have been hurt. Ren didn’t know, who had hurt him, but he knew, someone did. Goro had the same expression as him in his eyes, the pain of betrayal, of being left alone, shining in the deepest corners of his warm eyes. Both of them were similar in many things. Ren could have turned out like him, embittered, hateful and cynic, but he had his friends at the crossroad. Akechi likely had no one at his.

“I’m very sorry, Gentleman, but we are closing for today. As you see, Sojiro isn’t here. Could I ask of you to leave?”, Ren asked the two customers, whose cups were empty anyway. The both exchanged a gaze, but then left without losing a word on it. The doorbell chimed again. For a moment, Ren expected Goro to stand up and leave as well, but the ace detective seemed to have noticed, Ren wanted to talk to him.

“So, now, that we’re lonely, shall I get undressed?” Goro winked at him, but Ren didn’t react like every other time. The detective frowned and followed Ren, when he went behind the bar to cook some curry. Ren hoped the conversation, he decided to have with Goro, would be smoother, if his stomach was filled. Luckily, Sojiro had it prepared in the morning, so Ren only heated it up shortly. Then he filled two bowls and slid one towards Akechi.

“Thank you.” The brown-haired boy accepted the gesture, took a spoon and ate it.

“How long is this supposed to go on?”, Ren asked, his dark eyes shooting up to him. Goro blinked in confusion and starred into his eyes, trying to figure out, what Ren was referring to.

“What do you mean?”

“We know, you’re the culprit, Akechi.” Ren’s eyes sharpened. Normally, they were soft and warm, nothing like the almost devilish self-confidence, which glistened in the blood-red eyes of Joker. In this moment, Ren and his alter Ego fused into one person, Joker’s arrogant smile shining illusionary behind him. Akechi, on the other hand, was taken aback, his brown eyes blown wide, clearly losing the masquerade and revealing the suspicion of the Phantom Thieves to be true. 

Quickly, though, Akechi was able to regain his composure and started to laugh, almost manically, the sound echoing distortedly from the walls of the room.

“Good joke.” Akechi shook his head and pointed with the spoon at Ren, whose face remained unmoved. Goro blinked confused, when Ren didn’t show any reaction, not a grin, no hint of a laugh. Not one spark enlightening the almost black eyes behind the glasses. Goro swallowed heavily, not really sure, how to react. “It’s not a joke.”

“No.”, Ren said coldly. “We know, you’re responsible for the psychotic melt downs and for the deaths of Futaba’s mother and Haru’s father. We also know, you want to set the Phantom Thieves up, have me imprisoned and then killed off. The question we can’t answer is, why? I’d have believed your motives to be justice like you pointed out in so many interviews, but you are culprit, so that isn’t the reason why. So why, Akechi?”

Akechi’s mouth fell open, but his brain wasn’t able to find any word. Desperately, Akechi looked for the confident, he normally had, but it was nowhere to be found. Exposed and uncovered it seemed like Goro Akechi wasn’t brave and confident anymore. He wasn’t even intelligent any longer. Nothing of the identity, which he had built up over his life in the shadows, was able to withstand the light.

“That’s nonsense, Amamiya.”, he said calmly, trying to make it sound ridiculous, but Ren’s dark oceans of eyes stayed calm and unmoved, showing no visible reaction. Goro’s hand clenched into his trousers under the counter not for Ren to be seen. It shook violently, but it helped Akechi to stay calm. He needed to be very aware of every mimics, gesture and word, if he wanted to turn the truth back into a lie.

“Then, why didn’t you recognise Morgana’s voice at the school festival?”, Ren asked casually, while wiping over the counter, but Goro knew the leader was watching him and his reaction closely. The question was dangerous and Akechi tried to figure out, why this was important. He was a detective, why couldn’t he think of it?

“I don’t understand.”, Goro said after several moments of intense thinking. “It was the first time I heard a cat speaking.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Ren shook his head and it almost drove Akechi crazy. He wanted to shatter the calm confidence on his face. How was Amamiya able to stay calm, when he knew everything? When he knew, Akechi was the one intriguing against him and was going to be his future murderer? Why was Amamiya giving up the advantage, he had? How should Akechi fight against it? How could he win this situation, when all cards were played out? When there was no place for intrigues and lies anymore? When it was only about telling the truth? It was a kind of game, Akechi had never played before. “You heard him before at the TV station. He was the one suggesting to have pancakes.”

Akechi felt struck and his eyes widened for a moment, but then he was able to get a grasp on his mask and to put it back on.

“Oh, so it was him.”

“It also means you’d been in the Metaverse at this point. You lied to us, Akechi.” Ren’s eyes narrowed the tiniest bit and there was a slight glare in his eyes. To be honest, Ren wasn’t that troubled to know Akechi was the culprit. He was more upset that Akechi had lied, although that laid in the nature of an intrigue. It couldn’t take place without a manipulation.

“Well, it seems, I’m unmasked.” A crooked smile distorted Akechi’s normally handsome face and a spark of madness glistened in his brown eyes. He clapped his hands sarcastically, the disgusting arrogance forming into an ugly mask. Or was it Goro’s real face? Ren wasn’t sure. “Very well done. I’m impressed.”

Akechi’s voice was high pitched and quivering. It had nothing to do with the calm, intelligent one, he had once owned. Ren watched Goro and he gained the impression, the ace detective’s true self was quite fragile and close to insanity. For a moment, he even believed to see his skin chapping as if the layer of disguise had become too thin.

Still, Ren stayed calm. He had gone through this situation over and over again in his head, playing though several variances to be prepared.

“What do you want to do now? Kill me?”, Goro asked, his eyes flashing like a predator on the hunt.

“No.” Ren hadn’t stopped to clean the counter and did not even look at Akechi. Goro frowned and the distortion of insanity was smoothed out.

“No?”, he repeated in disbelief.

“No.”, Ren confirmed honestly.

“Why? I’d kill you.”

“I know, that’s why we’re here, because I don’t.”

“You’re weird, Amamiya.” Akechi had to give him that. Joker never ceased to surprise him. Goro actually had always been proud to be able to predict people’s behaviour, that he was able to assess everyone, but it turned out, he had underestimated the Phantom Thieves and Joker. They had been playing with him all along and he only got aware of it, because they let him know it. “Why are giving away your greatest advantage?”

“Because I don’t want the showdown to take place, which we are inevitably heading for.”, Ren explained, throwing the towel into the sink and resting his arms on the work counter. His dark eyes stayed on Akechi, who suddenly felt small under him. What was this supposed to be? Mercy? No, mercy didn’t exist in this world. So what goal were they trying to achieve? “Why are you doing this? For or with whom are you working? Tell us and we might be able to help you.”

“Help me?” Akechi threw his head back and laughed manically up to the ceiling, but it soon turned into a raw, hoarse bark and he tiredly shook his head. “Nobody can help me. Nobody has ever _wanted _to help me.”

Akechi startled, when the last bitter remark slipped his lips and he saw Ren frowning. Deep inside of him, Akechi felt the infant side of him, which he had believed to be killed off a long time ago, started to hope, someone would be reaching out to him. This was the bitterest thing he had ever thought, because he had learned early on, compassion and friendship didn’t exist. It was all just a disguise for a selfish aim. Joker didn’t care for him, all he wanted was for him to stop his plan in order to survive. Tough, Akechi’s subconscious didn’t believe that mantra. If it were true, Joker wouldn’t have confronted him. They would have simply killed him. So, what were they trying to achieve? The only logical solution he could find was that Amamiya actually tried to convince him to give up the intrigue in order to save both of their lives. Because if he weren’t able to convince Akechi, then it would be a _live or die_ situation and they both knew it. One of them had to die.

“What do you mean with that?”, Ren asked, but Akechi only snarled at him warningly. Ren rose his hands to show him, he was no harm. “Goro, talk to us.”

_Goro_. Akechi snorted disapprovingly about this pathetic attempt of manipulation. Was Ren truly thinking he would be able to open him up by using his first name? Although, he couldn’t deny, it felt good to be called like this. He hadn’t heard it in a very long time. Sometimes, it had felt like he was about to forget, what his first name was.

“Do you really believe me to be fooled by this?”

“I’m not trying to fool you.” Ren sounded brutally honest and his eyes looked calmly at him. Akechi was taken aback by the sheer force of honesty, which was radiating from the leader of the Phantom Thieves. “I’m trying to save us both.”

“You’re trying to save yourself.”, Akechi replied sneeringly. Ren threw a long gaze at him and shook his head tiredly.

“I like you, Akechi.”, Ren stated calmly, but Goro almost fell of his chair. In the last moment, his fingers clenched into the wood of the bar until his knuckles turned white and he grinded his teeth.

“Then you’re either a maniac or an idiot.”, he growled lowly from the depth of his throat. “Which one do you prefer?”

“I might be both, but it’s true.” The eyes of Ren grew softer, Joker’s blood-red irises turning into a deep, calm black. Ren hurled himself together on the stool, awaiting a trap o an attack. His brown eyes stayed unwaveringly on Ren. “Although I knew, you’re plotting against us, I can’t deny that I’m appreciating you. Your intelligence, strategical talent and those little banters in the café. I might be foolish and I might have doomed us by exposing our plan, but I’m hoping, I can convince you to fight with us.”

Akechi starred at him in disbelief, while his body was ready to fight. Loki or Robin Hood couldn’t help him, but he sure knew how to fight himself. He had to all his life. Yet, there was a sting of hope in his heart, which longed to believe Ren wasn’t lying. Goro had made his plan right when the Phantom Thieves had appeared and he was dead set on fulfilling it to finally free himself of the dark, shadowy chains of his past, which held him back, pressed him down and strangled him. Finally, he would be able to be free and he would achieve it on his own. He needed no one. He never had anyone, but his heart wanted to have someone. Anyone. And he had when he infiltrated Niijima’s palace together of them, although he wasn’t foolish enough to believe it to be real, especially not now, when he knew, they had seen through his masquerade. It had been a devious game, trying to fool him just like he had. They had just played better.

“You truly are a fool.”

“So, you said already. What else?” Ren furrowed his eyebrows slightly, maybe showing a little hint of growing impatient. “Are we actually going to talk or do you only want to insult me? I can take both. Just would like to know, what I need to prepare myself for.”

Once again, Akechi was surprised by Ren’s reaction. There was no hostility in his voice, not even arrogance or aggressivity. He didn’t know, what to make out of it. In the deep black eyes rested nothing, but calmness, and maybe even friendliness? Was the little shimmer, which Akechi saw, friendship? He couldn’t believe it, but on the other hand, Akechi had to admit, he would never recognise it, because he had no idea, how it looked like. It was a bitter cognition, but one he had to swallow. This friendly feeling, which was fundamental to humanity, was as foreign to him as hate was for them. Hate, on the other hand, was an emotion he knew like his best friend. He barked a huff and shook his head. His entire personality was a distortion in its own.

Tired, worn out eyes looked into dark, clear ones and in this moment, Ren got the intuition that his plan might succeed, because this tiredness might pave the way for a new perspective. Akechi was the most intelligent person Ren had ever met, so maybe his own words, as pathetic as they might be, would be heard.

“Total honesty on both sides. That what you’re offering. Do I understand you correct?” Even in a situation Akechi couldn’t assess, he stuck to his arrogance or perhaps, especially in those, because it was the only thing he could rely on. Luckily, Ren didn’t fall for the mockery and wasn’t provoked. He had decided to stay calm, to endure Akechi’s agony and anger, because he knew that the hatred had to wither, before a new flower of thoughts could blossom.

“Exactly.”, he replied calmly, two pairs of deep black eyes watching each other closely, assessing every reaction of the potential enemy or ally. They both only existed in the dawn of in between and the next few minutes would decide, if it was sunrise or sunset.

Akechi’s sharp eyes, which always showed his intelligence, hang on Ren, his head slightly tilted and the leader of the Phantom Thieves could see the inner battle, which took place behind them. In the end, Akechi sighed and took a spoon from the lukewarm curry. The heaviness of the dish ran down his throat and settled comfortably in his stomach, providing the impression of safety.

“Okay. Then, this is the hour of destiny. The final battle of life and death, of irreversibility is going to take place, now. Just differently than expected. I’m curious, who is going to win.”

“I hope, we both do.”

“That’s an option. An optimistic, but existing one.”, Akechi admitted with a thoughtful expression and Ren counted it as a success. At least, the ace detective was open for this outcome.

“What did you mean with _nobody ever wanted to help me_?”, Ren asked again and Goro quirked an eyebrow.

“So, I’m expected to make the first move? To expose my weakness?”

“We’ve already revealed truth to you, but you haven’t. Time to change this, don’t you think? Give me a sign of trust to show, that you’re truly willing to talk.” Unwaveringly, Ren looked at him. Akechi assessed the situation, several scenarios running like movies through his head. In the end, the detective came to the conclusion that it was legitimate claim. At least, Ren suspected this much, because his posture slumped, his shoulders falling down and he took a deep breath as if he tried to inhale the strength to speak about, what had been buried inside of him.

“I’m the bastardly child of Masayoshi Shido.” Akechi’s face distorted as if he had swallowed a bitter pill, his eyes burning with painful hatred a hole into the wall. It was not many words of truth, which Akechi gave, but the meaning behind them was immense. Ren slowly began to realize the entire extent of this conspiracy and a hot, burning flood of lava poured itself into this stomach at the sound of the name. Ren supressed the urge to grit his teeth, but it would be contra productive in this situation, because Akechi was obviously filled with hatred and if this powerful emotion clashed together, it would become destructive. “I was never acknowledged as his child and the pressure forced onto my mother by his subordinates made her commit suicide.”

“Just like Futaba…”, Ren whispered and a warm, gentle expression of compassion ran through his eyes. An expression Goro didn’t know how to handle. No one had ever looked at him like this. Actually, nobody had ever looked at him. They had superficially looked at his mask, but it also had not been true caring or even admiration. It had been a false game, a charade, and Goro knew it, but he took, what he could possibly get, because even an illusion was better than nothing.

But the Phantom Thieves were different. They were _kind_ and _warm_ and just in this moment Goro understood, how much so. They had known, he was planning to set them up and yet they treated him as one of them. They had treated him like a _friend_ despite everything he had done to them in order to achieve his egoistic, personal revenge. The shabby feeling of guilt made his stomach twist and the friendliness in Ren’s warm eyes suddenly felt painful.

Yes, Futaba had endured the same. They had even made her believe she was responsible for her mother’s death and yet, she had chosen another path than him. She had not indulged the hatred. And Haru… Akechi squeezed his eyes shut. She was such a sweet girl, always trying to please everyone, but he had not been able to see it. No, Goro hadn’t want to see it, willingly accepting to cause her pain just that his was reciprocated. In the end, Akechi was not any better than those he had despised and he had wanted to destroy. His own selfishness had turned him into one of them. And he had always been proud to be superior. How pathetic. Arrogance truly was dangerous.

When Akechi looked back up, he was shattered. For the first time, he had experienced true appreciation and friendship. They had accepted him as what he was, even his ugly, dark and distorted side. They were all risking their lives in the attempt to _save_ him and he, he was willingly throwing away, what he had wished for his entire life. It made him sick and in his twisted way of thinking, which the world had forged into him, he began to hate the Phantom Thieves for that. For being too good and so much better than him.

Goro bit his bottom lip as the battle inside of him devoured him and he didn’t know anymore, which side he wanted to win: his brain or his heart. Helplessly, he looked at Ren, who only watched him with his unbreakable calmness, his elbows on the counter, his head bedded onto his folded hands and Akechi knew him well enough to know, Ren watched him very closely. He carried the responsible for the lives of his friends, because if he was not able to convince Akechi to leave his hatred behind, then he had signed their death warrant. Ren knew that and yet, he found Goro worthy to risk it. It was either brilliant or pure madness, but Ren knew, Akechi was intelligent enough to realize all of this and the little piece of false honour, which still was inside of him, obliged him to listen.

In the end, Akechi was exhausted from all those cognitions storming onto him and he sighed tiredly, lowering his head and ruffling through his long, brown hair.

“I was passed around in the foster system. No one actually wanted me.” Akechi paused, expecting Ren to say something like _we want you_, but he was to clever to do so, because it would have likely made Goro snap. Instead he only watched him unwaveringly and Goro felt the urge to tear that expression from his face and tear it apart, because it showed him, how weak his own calmness was. Just how much of a mask.

“Does Shido know, who you are?” Ren tilted his head slightly to the side. Akechi sighed and shrugged.

“I don’t think so.” His voice was hollow and broken, showing that he somehow still wished of some kind of acknowledgement. “But even if he does, I’m just another tool.”

“Do you like yourself that less that being a tool is good enough for you?” One-hit K.O. Ren had hit a weak spot and Akechi’s eyes snapped at him, a deep, warning growl escaping him, before he could control it and his face expression was pulled back into the grimace of a predator, his teeth bared. Ren only quirked his eyebrow the tiniest bit, but showed no other reaction and the lack of reaction made Akechi’s threatening gesture crumble. He would achieve nothing with Ren like this and actually, the leader of the Phantom Thieves was the wrong target. Akechi knew that and he hated it that he did. He wanted to be angry, to direct his hatred somewhere, because it was too powerful, too devouring inside him, feeling like a roaring, raging monster in his guts and he needed to get rid off it or otherwise, he feared he would burst.

Instead of reacting to Goro’s aggression, Ren took his cup and refilled it with coffee, before pushing it back to the detective. Sadly, Goro stared into the restless, brown liquid and into his distorted face, which looked back at him.

“I crafted my public image carefully. It was the only kind of cognition I knew.”, Goro admitted finally, exhaling deeply, letting out exhaustion as old as he. “And it was better than nothing.”

“Listen, I’m not that foolish to think I understand the tiniest bit of what you’ve been through, Goro.”, Ren started slowly and his voice was too warm, too kind, too soothing, stripping down protection layer after protection layer of him, reaching for the deepest ground and there was not way, how Goro could prevent it, because it was exactly, what this part longed for. For someone saying his name as softly as Ren had, for someone to reach out, for someone wanting to see all of him and not just the pleasant side. “And I know, it’s hard for you trust, especially in the given situation, but all of us care for you and that you’re not able to recognise it, to even expect it to be a manipulation says it all.”

“How could you care for me after all I did.”

“Because we all know, how it’s like to be used by the society. That’s why we became Phantom Thieves after all. Goro, we don’t want you to soar away into the darkness, because we see, who you truly are, when you’re with us.”

“How do you know, it’s not just another mask?”

“Because you’re happy, when you’re with us.” It was simple statement of him, but it hit Goro hard and his hands clenched painfully into the cup. “And you’re afraid of it. Afraid of losing the mask you’ve become. Your blackened heart was scorched by flames of a force, you couldn’t run from. You’ve been let down by those, who should’ve protected you, you expect everyone to be like them. That’s why this feeling of belonging somewhere, to be appreciated is shaking you to the core, because you can’t believe it to be true. Especially not from us, but we all were in similar situation as you. We can see and sense the pain hidden deep inside of you and we know, how healing it is to know having at your side. When someone reaches for your hand, preventing you to drown.”

Goro blinked rapidly as he felt a tear falling from the corner of his eye, showing, how broken he truly was and how right Ren was.

“This does not have to be a live or die situation, Goro, as long as we don’t decide it to be. I don’t want it to be one. I don’t want to fight you, because I truly like you. I hope you can believe that.”

“I…I don’t know…”, Goro whispered helplessly, but Ren still seemed to be content with it.

“Will you allow us to prove it? To pause your plan for a while until you could possibly make a clear judgement?” Ren looked directly, sharply into Goro’s eyes and this time, he faced Joker’s determination as the thief said with a heavy voice: “And if we fail, we deserve to be wiped out, because we abandon one of us.”

**Author's Note:**

> I would really appreciate to hear your opinions about this one shot. 
> 
> Greetings,  
Subaru :)


End file.
